When Arthur Met Molly
by peridotgreen
Summary: A one-shot about Molly and Arthur first meeting.


Molly nervously re-adjusted her hair, using the window panes in Luke's front door as a mirror. She'd managed to get the unruly curls to stop frizzing and behave themselves with a lot of effort and hairspray that morning, and was worried the wind might be ruining the effect. She looked down at the plastic bag in her hand. It contained tomato soup and five chocolate frogs; they were two of Luke's favourite things and sure to make him feel better. She and he had originally bonded over chocolate frogs; she adored them and collected the cards crazily. She was in fact only missing one card now; Dumbledore. They'd only started selling it recently so it was quite hard to find. She smiled to herself as she thought how surprised her darling Luke would be to see her. When he's sent an owl to tell her he was too ill to go on the date they'd had planned, she'd instantly felt sorry for him and decided to bring around a "get-well" package. She and he had only been dating for six months, but she was already sure he was the one. She rang the doorbell excitedly and waited for him to appear.

There was some mumbling from within the house.

"Luke?" She called out. Somebody swore. She heard footsteps, and a crash and then silence.

"Luke?!" She called out, louder this time. Nobody came. What if death eaters were attacking him?!

"Alohamora." She whispered. She opened the door quietly, carefully. There was a ripped shirt at the top of the stairs; Luke's shirt! No, they couldn't have taken him. She ran up towards it. And what she saw made her stop n her tracks.

Luke was fine. Perhaps more than fine actually. He was stark naked, and there was an equally naked girl beside him. Molly looked this girl over. She was pretty. Not ridiculously so, but pretty in a way that Molly wasn't; where Molly was a little chubby this girl was stick thin. Where Molly had fiery red hair (ok, maybe it was a bit on the ginger side) this girl's hair was a cheap, dyed blonde colour. There was some skanky bra covered in lace and bows and neon strips on the floor beside her.

"Molls, I can explain . . ." But Molly didn't want explanations. Before she knew what she was doing, she ran. And ran. And ran. As she reached the front door of Luke's house she saw something in his bin that caught her eye; a pile of chocolate frog cards. Ones from the sweets she'd bought him last week . . . He'd apparently been lying about that passion too. It was all lies. Who was this man, that she thought she'd known so well?

She ran out the door and down the street and down so many streets that she didn't recognise until her legs would carry her no more and she broke down sobbing on the pavement. She could apparate home, but she didn't want to face her family right now. But she couldn't stay here. What if Luke came after her? She looked up and saw something familiar; a train station. Perfect. She could ride trains for a few hours. She had a little muggle money in her pocket just in case. So she went in, bought a ticket (the assistant had the good sense not to ask why she was crying as she did so) and boarded the next train out of there. It was going to Milton Keynes. She didn't even know that was a place. Oh well, it would do. She sat down in an empty carriage and sobbed. And sobbed. And sobbed. She started wretching and wondered if she'd be sick. She leant over the side of the chair but nothing came out.

The doors to the carriage opened behind her. "Oh, sorry." It was a nerdy looking boy, carrying a notepad. "Um, I could go."

"No, stay." Molly whispered. She didn't sound like herself.

"Do you recognize me?" The boy asked. Molly looked at him more closely.

"Sorry, no," she said.

"Oh, you just look like a girl from my school; Molly her name is."

"Oh that is me! Hogwarts, yes?"

"Yeah! I'm in Seventh Year! I, um, know your name because I, um, keep an eye on the younger years to make sure they're . . . Ok . . ." He sounded very awkward. _Please God make him go away_. She thought.

"Why are you on a train if you're a wizard?"

"I could ask you the same question!"

"I asked first".

"Well . . .! I like muggle things." She burst out laughing. He looked indignant "they're really fascinating if you look closely!"

"A WIZARD who's obsessed with muggles?! That's ridiculous!"

"No, seriously. Look at these little cards for instance." He took out a safety card from the seat in front of her. "See how they're covered in this shiny plastic. The muggles would say they're _laminated_ it's done so that the muggles can't eat them if they get hungry."

"I'm pretty sure that's not what they're for."

"Oh it is! I asked a gentlemen on a train once and that's what he told me."

"He was messing with you."

"Don't be so rude. I'm trying to be nice." Molly sighed. She was being mean.

"Sorry." The boy smiled. He held out his notepad to her. She took it tentatively.

"I write all my observations down here." She flicked through the pages of neat handwriting and detailed diagrams. There were some messy notes scribbled at the back: _Toaster is apparently not torture device used on fingers, is instead something to do with food, must do_ _more research . . . Muggles seem to think owls are wise, they need to meet mine . . . Still not sure if there are really people in a television_ . . .

"You must've aced muggle studies," she smiled at him. He looked downcast.

"My pureblood parents wouldn't, um, let me take it. They don't know I'm here today . . . Say I'm a disgrace to the family."

"I'm sorry." She put her hand on his without thinking. Where Luke's had always been calloused and cold this boy's were warm and soft, and so gentle as he slipped his fingers into hers. "Are you ok?"

"I should be asking you that!" The boy said. She shook her head.

"I will be," she said. He handed her something; a chocolate frog.

"These always cheer me up." He said. "I collect the cards like crazy. Don't know how muggles live without them." She took it from him tentatively. "I'm Arthur by the way." She slowly unwrapped the chocolate frog and popped it in her mouth. It tasted comfortingly familiar. She pulled out the card and gasped.

"Who'd you get?" He asked.

"Dumbledore." She said, quietly.

She'd finally found the piece she'd been missing.


End file.
